The Grief of Stones | The Cemeteries of Amalo book 2 | ARC Review

Thank you to Tor Books and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest revew. This does not change my opinion in anyway.

 Book: The Grief of Stones (The Cemeteries of Amalo 2 | The Goblin Emperor 3) by Katherine Addison
Release Date: June 14th 2022
Tags: Fantasy | Adult Fantasy | Paranormal | Ghosts
Trigger/Content Warnings: Mention of Child Pornography | Mental Abuse | Suicide
Other books in this series I reviewed
The Witness for the Dead

Celehar’s life as the Witness for the Dead of Amalo grows less isolated as his circle of friends grows larger. He has been given an apprentice to teach, and he has stumbled over a scandal of the city—the foundling girls. Orphans with no family to claim them and no funds to buy an apprenticeship. Foundling boys go to the Prelacies; foundling girls are sold into service, or worse.

At once touching and shattering, Celehar’s witnessing for one of these girls will lead him into the depths of his own losses. The love of his friends will lead him out again.

The Cemeteries of Amalo series is a companion to The Goblin Emperor in which we follow the Witness for the Dead Celehar. The Grief of Stones is the second story. If you are looking for soul warming and character focus fantasy this is a great series for you.

The Grief of Stones starts us off rather slow with an assignment that seems to have very little substance. And yet when Celehar searches a desk at some point, regardless of already knowing the killer, he finds something that sets him off on something far greater. I have to say that I found the start not as captivating as I wanted it to be and it is why I am not rating this the full 5 stars.

Regardless of course Celehar manages to find a bigger thing going on. Even though he hasn’t been officially petitioned for it he still researches it. Even more so when one of the girls from the orphanage he is looking at turns up dead.

This book shows a lot of things happening to our Celehar. From gaining a witness student, to questioning his feelings for a friend to events regarding his own powers. A lot of things are changing in his world and that is hard on someone so set in his way. But as always it is great to follow Celehar. He is a bit hard headed about his calling and having to find new things will open up a whole new world for him. And I can’t wait to see where it will take him.